Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 2,131 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 25.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,603 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,131 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,846,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of Caterpillar stock opened at $326.45 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $364.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $372.98. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $307.05 and a 1 year high of $418.50. The company has a market capitalization of $156.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. Research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a $1.41 dividend. This represents a $5.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $420.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $383.80.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason Kaiser sold 2,425 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.70, for a total value of $860,147.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,742.50. This represents a 27.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives in worldwide. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, compactors, road reclaimers, forestry machines, cold planers, material handlers, track-type tractors, excavators, telehandlers, motor graders, and pipelayers; compact track, wheel, track-type, backhoe, and skid steer loaders; and related parts and tools.